Hours later, the child took his life.

When his parents finally grasped the cruelties Gabriel had endured, they sued Cincinnati Public Schools, becoming part of a steadily growing trend: Parents whose bullied children end their lives are seeking to hold schools accountable. More and more are filing suit, according to attorneys and others involved. And some are pressing schools to memorialize their children or tighten their practices, so other children are not similarly harmed. The Taye family reached a $3 million settlement with Cincinnati Public Schools, which committed in 2021 to reform anti-bullying protocols. Other high-profile cases followed in 2023: A school system in Utah settled a claim for $2 million, one in Connecticut settled for $5 million, and another in New Jersey agreed to $9.1 million.

“It’s a wake-up call to schools around the country that unless you protect our children, you will be in the same position: You will be sued, and you will have to pay substantial amounts of money to settle those cases,” said Bruce Nagel, an attorney for the family in the New Jersey lawsuit.

Bullying is widespread in the nation’s schools, and cases associated with suicide are few by comparison. Even so, The Washington Post identified nearly 200 student suicides since 2016 that were linked to school bullying in news accounts or court records. There are likely many more. Nearly 10 percent were children ages 7 to 10.

The greatest share of students who took their lives were aged 11 to 14. A 13-year-old California girl who wanted to be a lawyer was called ugly and taunted as a loser. A 12-year old Indiana boy excelled at baseball but was abused so relentlessly he hated his life. An introverted 13-year-old girl in Louisiana who craved friendship was targeted for nearly everything: her glasses, braces, clothes, shoes, body shape. In recent years, depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation have reached historic highs, especially among children and teens. Experts say urgent reforms are needed for America’s underfunded, fragmented and difficult-to-access mental health system.

A few tormentors did not stop when a student died. In Pennsylvania, someone noted the first anniversary of a 15-year-old’s death by posting on social media a photo of him with a noose around his neck. In New Jersey, a juvenile was charged with Zoom-bombing a 17-year-old’s virtual funeral with threats to blow up the funeral home and turn the casket to ashes.

Families argue that schools have a legal obligation to keep children safe, and many political leaders agree: Fifty states have enacted laws to combat school bullying. But in day-to-day school life, some policies are not robust, and others are not enforced. And advocates say that a belief persists in some communities that bullying is part of childhood and that “kids will be kids.”

Efforts to curtail bullying are not a priority for many schools across the nation, especially after the pandemic left schools with even greater needs than before, said Dorothy Espelage, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who has studied the issue for three decades. “It’s not just North Carolina,” she said. “It’s all over this country.”

The National School Boards Association declined an interview for this story. Several school systems with recent cases have defended their actions, saying they handle bullying properly, and many say they are committed to safe schools. Some districts did not respond to inquiries from The Post..........